Device for controlling the speed of railroad-trains.



H. J. WARTHEN.

DEVICE FOR CONTROLLING THE SPEED 0F RAILROAD TRAINS.

APPLICATION FILED 00T. 24, 1911. RENEWED FEB. 5, 1914.

' Alpatenedl Mar. 17, 1914.

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COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH co4..\vASH|NGTON. D. c.

DEVICE FOR CONTROLLING THEy SPEED OF RAILROAD-TRAINS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 17, 1911.

Application filed October 24, 1911, Serial No. 656,444. Renewed February5, 1914. Serial No. 816,845.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, HARRY J. IARTHEN, acitizen of the United States, residing at IVashington, District ofColumbia, have invented a Device for Controlling the Speed ofRailroad-Trains, of which the following is a full and completespecification.

My invention is an improvement in devices for controlling the operationof railroad trains, and relates more especially to the provision of avalve mechanism for use in connection with an air-brake system to limitthe speed of the train for certain purposes.

rIhe present invention is designed more especially for use in connectionwith a system of electrical and mechanical devices for controlling theoperation of railro-ad trains, forming the subject-matter of a separateapplication for patent filed October 24, 1911 Serial No. 656,443.

'Ihe primary object of the present invention is to provide a particularform of valvemechanism which may be applied in connection with theordinary air-brake system of a train and is operated by a governorgeared to an aXle of the locomotive or any other part of the train so asto automatically apply the air-brakes in case the speed of the trainshould exceed a predetermined limit; all as hereinafter fully describedin the following specification, and more especially set forth in theappended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of thisspecification:-Figure 1 is a sectional view through a valve-mechanismconstructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a similar view,with the parts of the valve in the opposite position from that shown inF ig. 1.` Fig. 3 is a detail view of the device for regulating theoperation of the valve mechanism.

Like numerals of reference indicate like parts in all the gures of thedrawings.

In carrying out my invention I provide a valve casing having twochambers formed therein, to wit: a large cylinder or chamber 5 for apiston-valve 6 and a small chamber or cylinder 7 for a slide-valve 8,said chainbers being disposed preferably one above the other andconnected by air-passages or ports, hereinafter referred to, so that theoperation of the piston-valve may be controlled by the operation of theslide-valve. The pistonvalve 6 is provided with a transverse passage 9,which when said piston is raised conend.

nects a port 10 at one side of the cylinder with a port 11 at the otherside of the same, y

4 the port 11 leading to the engineers controlvalve with an exhaust whenthe piston-valve 1s lowered, the latter is provided with a cavity 14,which connects said port 11 with an exhaust port 15 leading out at oneside of the valve casing, whereby air pressure may be exhausted from thecontrol-valve to apply the air-brakes. This piston-valve is raised andlowered by air-pressure let into the chamber or cylinder 5 above orbelow the piston by means of the slide-valve 8.

The slidevalve is provided with a transverse opening 16 therethroughcommunicating at all times with a passage 17 leading from theair-pressure supply by way of port 10, and adapted to connect saidpassage with either one of two passages 18 and 19, ac cording to theposition of the slide-valve. The air-passage 18 leads to the lower endof the chamber or cylinder 5, and air-passage 19 leads to the upper endof said chamber or cylinder, and the opening through the slidevalve isso disposed that when said valve is raised air-passage 17 connects withairepassage 18 to admit pressure below the piston to raise the same, andwhen the slide-valve is lowered said air-passage 17 connects withair-passage 19 to admit pressure above the piston-valve to lower thesame; it being noted that the end of the air-pressure supply passage 17adjacent the' slide-valve is en-` larged so as to communicate with theopening 16 of the slide-valve in either position of the latter. In orderto exhaust air pressure from above the piston-valve when air-pres* sureis being admitted below the same by the slide-valve, and vice versa, theslidevalve is provided with a cavity 20, for connecting air-passage 19to an exhaust-port 21, when said slide valve is raised, and with acavity 22, for connecting air-passage 18 with an exhaustport 23 when theslide-valve is lowered, and to permit of a free operation of theslide-valve the chamber 7 containing the same is provided with a vent24; at its lower ldirectly to said valve, passing through a suitablestuffing-box 26. The weighted governor-arms 27 are rotated as usual by arotatable collar Q8 mounted on the upper end of a frame Q9 supported onthe valve casing, said collar having a beveled-gearwheel 30 in mesh witha companion beveled-gearwheel 31 on a driving-shaft 32,and to the latteris fixed apulley 33 by which itmaybe connected to a driven shaft of theloco-motive, tender, or any other part of the train, for instance oneofthe axles. To the stem is fixed the usual grooved collar 34- with whichthe inner ends of the weight-ed governor-arms 27 engage, whereby whenthe arms are moved upward by centrifugal force the inner ends thereofwill be lowered to depress the stem and its slide-valve.

The governor may be constructed so as to operate or depress theslide-valve when the locomotive or train attains a certain rate ofspeed, say ten miles an hour, but in order to regulate the governor sothat it will operate at any other predetermined rate of speed i providea simple attachment or tension device which acts on the movable stem ofthe` governor and valve to increase or diminish the amount of pressurerequired to depress the same. This device comprises a lever 35 centrallyfulcrumed on a suitable support 36,l threaded in the-base of thegovernorsupporting frame 29 and bifurcated at its inner end to engagebetween collars 37-37 Y on the stem, and at its outer end connected to arod 38 which passes through a tubular support 39 and is engaged by acompression spring 40 seated in the tubular support and interposedbetween said tubular support and an adjusting-nut 41 threaded on thelower end of the rod and adapted to increase or diminish the tension ofthe spring. As the spring-actuated lever is connected to the stem of thegovernor it will retard the downward movement of the stein according tothe compression of the spring, and this may be regulated by the nut tovary the centrifugal force required and consequently vary the limit ofspeed necessary to actuate the slidevalve.

The operation of the speed-valve mechanisin will be readily understoodfrom' the foregoing description, in connection with the accompanyingdrawings; for as the engineers control valve is supplied withairpressure through the piston-valve 6 the airbrake mechanism of thetrain may be operated in the usual manner only when said piston-valve israised to the position shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, and is held inthis position Vby the raised position of the slide-valve which feedsair-pressure from the main-reservoir of the air-brake system into thepassage 18 and into the lower end of the cylinder containing saidpiston-valve, and of course this position of the parts is maintained aslong as the n governor-arms are in lowered position. Therefore the trainmay be run in the usual manner up to the speed at which thegovernor-arms are thrown out to the position shown in Fig. 2 of thedrawings, in which case the slidevalve is depressed connecting theair-pressure supply passage 17 with the feed-passage or port 19 andair-passage or vport 18 with the exhaust port 23, causing air-pres-Vsure to be admitted above the piston and the pressure below saine to beexhausted, whereby the valve is lowered cutting oft1 the airpressuresupply tothe engineers controlvalve and exhausting from saidcontrolvalve by way of the cavity 14 in the pistonvalve and exhaust-port15 to which the cavity connects. The exhausting of the airpressure fromthe engineers control-valve will of course apply Vthe air-brakesautomatically and in the same manner as by the manual operation of thecontrol-valve.

Having thus described my invention, what l claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters-Patent, is i 1. A` speed control mechanism for use inconnection with an air-brake system, coinprising a piston-valve throughwhich the air pressure passes for application ofthe air-brakes, meansfor admitting pressure to opposite sides of said piston-valve,respectively, and a governor for operating said means.

2. A speed control mechanism for use in connection with an air-brakesystem, cornprising a piston-valveL through which 'the air-pressurelpasses for application of the brakes, a slide-valve for admittingpressure to opposite sides of the piston-valve, respectively, and agovernor operating the slide-l valve, substantially asshown anddescribed.

3. A speed control mechanism-for use in connection with an air-brakesystem, comprising a piston-valve through which the air-pressure passesfor application of the brakes, a slide-valve for admitting pressure toopposite sides of the piston-valve, respectively, a governor operatingsaid slide-valve, and a tension device for regulating the governor,substantially as shown and described.

il. A speed control mechanism for use in connection with an air-brakesystem, comprising a pisto-n-valve through which the ,air-pressurepasses for application of the brakes, a slide-valve for admittingpressure to either side of the piston valve, a governor connected to thestern of the slide-valve for opera-ting the latter, and a regulatingdevice consisting of a leverconnected to the stem, and a compressionspring engaging lair-presenre passes for application of the bra-lies, aslide-valve for admitting pressure to either side of the piston-valve, agovernor connected to the stem of the slidevalve for operating thelatter, and a regulating device consisting of a lever centrallyfulcrumed on a support and engaging the stem, a rod connected to theouter end of the lever, an adjusting-nut threaded on the rod, and acompression-spring bea-ring against the nut, substantially as shown anddescribed.

6. A speed control mechanism for use in connection With air-brakesystems, comprising a casing having a piston chamber and slide-valvechamber, passages between the slide-valve chamber `and opposite ends ofthe piston-chamber and between said slidevalve chamber and source ofair-pressure supply, a piston through which the air-pressure passes forapplication of the brakes, and a. slide-valve for connecting theairpressure supply passage to the passages leading into the oppositeends of the pistonchamber, respectively, together with a governorconnected to the slide-valve, substantially as shown and described.

7. A speed control mechanism for use in connection with an air-brakesystem, comprising a casing having a piston-chamber and a slide-valvechamber, passages between the slide-valve chamber and opposite ends ofthe piston-chamber, respectively, and between said slide-valve chamberand source of air-pressure supply, a slide-valve having an openingtherethrough for connecting the air-pressure supply passage to eitherone of the passages leading to the ends of the piston chamber, andcavities in the slide-valve for connecting the air-passages from thepiston-chamber to exhaust-ports; a piston having an opening therethroughfor connecting the air-pressure supply to the engineers control valve ofthe air-brake mechanisln and a cavity for connecting said control-valveWith an exhaust; together with a governor connected to the stem of theslidevalve, substantially as shown and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of tivo subscribing witnesses.

HARRY J. WARTHEN.

lVitne sses THOMAS R. BARENDALE, ROY C. WEBSTER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents.

Washington. D. C."

